God Is With Me
by Sarah Pevensie
Summary: This is the story of David and Goliath in David's POV. I wrote it in a modernish way so it would be easy to read. I really recomend you read it, Christian or not.
1. The Shepherd

The sun had just appeared from the horizon by the time David started out for his family's flock of sheep, his hand carrying his walking stick.

The sheep were all huddled together inside a round gate, caging them all from escaping. And it was David's job, as a shepherd, to take the sheep out into the rich, grassy plains, so that the sheep will feast upon them.

It was a continuous ritual for David. Everyday, he would take the sheep out for them to eat, making sure no predators attack them, and, by nightfall, he would take them back inside the gate. He would count the sheep to see if no one had run away, and then afterward, he would go back to his home and rest, waiting for the next, same day to come.

David didn't mind doing all that work every single day. But he couldn't help the feeling of boredom. He wanted something different to happen in his life. Ever since a prophet, called Samuel, came in search of Israel's future king and picked David out of all of his older brothers, David was more ready for his time as a shepherd to come to an end. He was to be a _king . . . _over _Israel_! At first, he didn't understand how this could be true. He had no royal blood and he was only a boy. However, Samuel assured David that the Lord had a very special plan for him.

Even after waiting for almost a month or so, David continued to wait for the Lord's plan for him. But after his three oldest brothers went off to join King Saul's army, and his other brothers leaving home, David's doubt and impatience were beginning to grow inside of him. However, David would always pray for the Lord's patience as he endlessly went back to what he does best: shepherding.

David was just about to open the gate, to allow a passage to the sheep, when his father called for him. Obediently, David rushed to his father, who was standing by a cart filled with food.

"What is it, father," David asked him.

"David, I need you to do something for me," his father answered. David nodded for him to continue. "I have packed roasted grains, cheese, and bread into this cart. I need you to take them to the Israel's campsite and deliver them to your brothers. While you are there, see how your brothers are doing and bring me back news. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father," David said, trying not to show his excitement over going to the battlefield, where a battle will certainly be at.

"All right, David, be careful. May Yaweh be with you."

They both exchanged their farewells before David head off, leading a donkey that was carrying the food filled cart. As he journeyed on, David prayed for his safety if he arrives in the middle of a dangerous battle.


	2. The Battlefield

David had made it up the road to find his destination up ahead.

There were two, large campsites on both sides of the land, far away from each other. One side was covered by mostly green tents of all sizes, and the other side had mostly red tents just the same. Both had numerous soldiers there, armed and unarmed. They had their own campfire that was still burning hot, smoke rising lazily up to the sky.

As he walked closer, excitement filled within him, David took notice of something very strange. There was supposed to be a battle taking place between them right now. But nothing was happening. There was no fighting, no screaming (whether in battle cry or in pain), nothing. In fact, after closely studying the battlefield, it looked as if no battle had ever begun. How could this be?

Baffled, David led the donkey and the cart straight to the campsite with green tents, for he knew well that they belonged to Israel, and the one with red tents belonged to the Philistines. As he walked inside and passed by a few soldiers, David saw most of them staring at the Philistines' campsite, terror clearly visible on all of their faces. _This doesn't look right_, David thought to himself as he set the cart to the nearest tent he could find first. _Perhaps my brothers will explain everything to me._

David began walking around the campsite, searching for his brothers.

Suddenly, he felt heavy vibrations repeating slowly; sounding exactly like footsteps. He couldn't understand what was happening. However, he could see all of the soldiers' face quickly turning paler than the sheep's wool. Something was definitely wrong.

David ran to the front line of the campsite to see what was going on. There, on the front line of the Philistines' campsite, was the tallest man David had ever seen in his life.

The man looked about nine feet tall. His body wore massive armor and carried a big, sharp spear on his left hand. His skin had a browner color and his body very muscular. He also had dark, shoulder-length hair and flaring nostrils. Even from a far away distance, the man looked frightening.

"Oh, Israelites," the man yelled teasingly from his side of the battlefield. "I have returned! And, once again, I have come to see if any of you brave-," he stretched the word 'brave' as if hinting something. "-enough to come forward and fight me! Remember, if I kill your chosen warrior, you all will have to surrender to us! If your warrior kills me-," he stopped to laugh harshly as if he thought that was the most ridicules idea he had ever heard of. "-then we will surrender to you!"

David looked behind him, waiting for one of the soldiers to step forward and challenge him. But to his complete shock, no one dared stepped forward. In fact, most of them were backing away from the front line and a few hid inside the tents. David just stared at the pitiful sight before him, not believing it at all. How could they act like this in front of their enemies?

The huge man huffed. "Oh, well! I guess no one is brave enough to stand against me! Ha, what cowards! And they say you all were the 'children of God'! Ha!"

David felt as if he had just been punched hard in the stomach.

"I will return in the next hour," the man announced. "And I expect to see someone ready to challenge me!" He chuckled to himself as he disappeared into the Philistines' campsite.

As soon as the giant man was gone, all the Israel soldiers reappeared, breathing out in relief. But David continued to stare at them in disbelief. They were experienced soldiers, trained to fight in wars and have come here to defeat the Philistines. But instead, they cower in fear at the sight of this enemy, this warrior. Wasn't the Lord with them?

David marched up to one of the soldiers. "How could you men let him taunt you all like that," he inquired. "How can you let fear get in the way of everything you have been trained to do?"

"Have you seen the looks of that man," the soldier questioned David back. "Do you even know who he is? That's Goliath, the Philistines' champion warrior! I've heard he took down ten strong men in less than three minutes!"

"No wonder the king is so desperate," said another soldier who had just joined them.

"What do you mean," David asked.

"Well, the king announced that whoever defeats Goliath will become very rich, marry his beautiful daughter, and will carry a social status to his family."

David paused to allow both of the soldiers' information sink in. They all sounded interesting, especially the reward the king will give away to the winner. But there was one thing that was bothering him:

"But didn't you all believe that our God will help us in battle?"

None of the soldiers answered David's question.

"What are you doing here," demanded a voice behind David. He turned around to see his oldest brother, Eliab, standing before him, his eyes burning with anger and his fists tightened. "Why did you leave the sheep behind? You came here just to see the battle, didn't you? I know how overconfident and headstrong you can be, but why do you have to be here?"

"I did nothing wrong," David snapped at Eliab, furious at his brother's accusation. "I was just asking questions, is that wrong?" He turned to all of the soldiers who were watching him. "Why can't you all believe that the Lord, our God, will lead us to victory? He always had before and He always will be! He will help us defeat Goliath if we put all our faith in Him! Why can't you all have faith in Him now?!"

No one spoke a word. Silence spread through all of the frightened soldiers. Even Eliab and David's other brothers stayed silent. They all just stared back at David, who shook his head in pity.

Feeling as if he had gotten his answer, David turned to the first soldier David spoke to earlier. "Where can I find the king?"

All of the soldiers gasped unexpectedly.

"Are you serious," Eliab spoke, his voice flaming with anger as before. "Why would you need to see the king? Only the ones who are called can see the king!"

David ignored him. "Where can I find the king," he repeated.

The soldier looked at David uncertainly before he hesitantly led the way, with David close behind. No one else followed them and David ignored all the stares from all the soldiers. He knew what he was doing.

At least, he prayed he did.


	3. King Saul

David soon came upon the largest tent in the whole campsite, obviously belonging to the king himself.

The soldier, who led David to the king's tent, took one last look at him before he abandoned David. With that, David made his way to the entrance.

There was a guard, standing right in front of the entrance, shielding it. His body was as still as a stone. When David approached him, the guard narrowed his eyes on the boy, clearly demanding David to state his business.

"I am here to see the king," David boldly proclaimed. The guard's eyes turned questionably. "Tell him David of Bethlehem is here to see him. He should know I am." This was true. It was David who calmed the king with his harp, when the king was at his worst mood.

The guard's eyes looked over David suspiciously. Then, he walked inside the tent. David waited patiently.

Finally, the guard returned, moving aside to allow David entrance in the tent. David nodded at the guard before entering.

When he first stepped inside, David quickly noticed how huge the inside area was. It was big enough to be a chamber. Royal furniture and chests inhabited there, as well as a few drapes that hung in the ceiling. There also hung charts and maps on the walls and the floor David stood on wasn't the ground, but on a wool carpet. There were two guards posted on opposite sides of the tent.

And there, across the room, sitting on a throne-like chair that sat on a step eight inches above ground, was King Saul himself.

King Saul wore his mighty crown on his head and majestic robes. He was quite handsome, as David had been told before. King Saul had short, dark hair and dark beard. He also had dark eyes, which were shining with surprise right now, at the sight of David. He smiled for one second, recognizing him before, but quickly frowned slightly at David.

"David," the king called to him. David came forward and bowed respectively. "What are you doing here, far from your home? I am sure I did not call for you and your soothing harp."

"No, sire, you didn't," David assured him. He couldn't help but feel a little frightened to be in the presence of the king. He silently prayed for the Lord for His courage. "I had come to deliver food for my brothers under the orders of my father. When I arrived, I had been told that there was a giant man in our enemies' campsite, who wishes to challenge one of us to fight him. And yet, no one will."

The king gave out a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid this is true. Goliath had come to challenge us for more than ten days."

"And no one challenged him?"

"No, no one has," the king shook his head. "It seems as if none of these men have the courage enough to face him."

"But don't they remember our God? Don't they all remember how the Lord was with our ancestors through dark times? You of all people should know that; you're the king!"

"I know, David, and I do remember of what He has done for our ancestors."

Though David couldn't stop doubting his king's words.

"But," the king continued. "You must understand what we're up against."

"I understand that these men are being discouraged to face a problem that our God can wipe out of existence in less than one second if He chooses to!"

"There is nothing we can do about it, David," the king snapped, his anger rising. "I've tried persuading these men to fight, but nothing will work!"

David steadied himself and allowed the Lord to calm him down. This was no place or time for him to lose his temper in front of the king. He closed his eyes and paused, hearing what his God has to say to this. And when he heard it, he slightly raised his chin and stared straight at the king.

"Fine, then. If no one else will fight Goliath . . . I will."

The king suddenly shot up from his chair. Even the guards' eyebrows rose up in shock.

"You," the king questioned in disbelief. "Why you? You're just a boy; you have no experience!"

"As long as my God is with me, I have every experience I need."

"But Goliath is a strong and furious warrior, you could get killed!"

"If it is the will of Yahweh, then I will die in his name."

"David, I cannot let you walk out there and be murdered by that giant man! What of your family, your father?"

"My Lord will take care of them, I am sure of it," David said simply.

"But you have a future here!"

"If the Lord, my God, will allow me to live, then He will be my future."

The king opened his mouth to protest again, but nothing came out. Instead, he sighed in defeat and rubbed his hand over his forehead in frustration. "Why would you want to do this, David? Why?"

David paused for a moment in thought before answering. "I have come here for a reason, sire. Not to bring food for my brothers, but to defeat Goliath in His name. This had been the Lord's plan for His people and the Philistines: to show His glory through me."

"But how can you be sure the Lord will be with you? How could you believe He will be with you and will help you?"

"I am a shepherd to my father's herd of sheep, as you already know. I have watched and cared for the sheep everyday. Whenever a lion, wolf, bear, or any other beasts come and endangers the sheep, I prevent them from moving any closer to them. If one takes one sheep from the herd, I would chase after the beast, kill it, then retrieve my stolen sheep. If the beast attacks me, I kill it before it killed me. You see, sire, I have killed many beasts back home and this Philistine warrior is no different than the other beasts I've faced before, because he has challenged the army of the living God. If my Lord saved me from all the beasts, He will save me from this warrior," David finished.

The king was silent, staring at David. He bowed his head, thinking to all of what David had said to him. David waited for the king to respond. He was a little worried, but refused to show it, standing his ground bravely.

Finally, the king sighed and spoke. "Very well. If you wish to fight Goliath, then you have my permission. May Yahweh be with you."

The king clapped his hand twice and the two guards immediately approached to the king, ready to follow orders.

"You will need armor to protect yourself," the king said to David. He turned to the guards. "Bring this boy some armor."

The guards bowed and walked to a chest on the far corner. They carried it over and positioned in between David and the king.

They opened the chest in front of David. There, inside, David saw a bronze helmet, a battle tunic, and a large sword. All for him. David felt his stomach skip a beat.

"Put them all on the boy," the king ordered to the guards and the guards obeyed.

Soon, David was completely covered in armor. However, all these armors did not seem right for him. The helmet was huge and heavy, it covered David's eyes, trapping his eyes in the dark. The battle tunic was very large and heavier than the helmet; David had a hard time just standing still. And the sword was just as worst; it was a wonder how David was able to prevent himself from falling on his side. All of the armors were larger and heavier that David had expected. They were all too much for him. This will not work.

"I'm sorry, sire," David said, taking his helmet off. "But I cannot wear these. It's not right for me. I can't even walk in these things, let alone stand still."

"But you need them to fight Goliath," the king said desperately as David took the remaining armor off of him and back into the chest. "How will you fight him without any protection?"

"You'll just have to trust me," was all David said before he left, leaving the doubting and worried king behind.

After retrieving his walking stick, and ignoring the anxious stares from the soldiers, David walked out of the campsite and up to a nearby riverbed. He kneeled down, setting the stick on the ground, and searched the bottom. He later found what he was looking for: five smooth stones. David carefully picked them up and placed them in his shepherd's bag. He took out his trusty sling to check its conditions before putting it back in his belt.

And then, knowing he still had time, David sat down on the ground, next to the riverbed, and prayed.


	4. David and Goliath

More than ten minutes had passed and David continued to pray. He asked the Lord for His strength, His guidance, and His presence. And, most of all, he prayed that his God will use him to aid His chosen people.

At last, the same, heavy vibrations of footsteps came upon him. Feeling that the time has come, David gripped his walking stick, stood up, and made his way back to the campsite. There, on the front line of the Philistines campsite, stood the mighty Goliath himself.

"I'm back," Goliath yelled in a song-like tone. "And I am still waiting for your chosen warrior! Who will step forward and fight me?"

Taking a deep breath and exhaling (in his attempt to steady himself), David boldly walked away from the Israelites and toward Goliath.

"David, what are you doing," a voice, who David clearly recognized as Eliab, called after him from behind.

"Come back," another voice, belonging to David's second oldest brother, Abinadab, called to him.

David ignored his brothers' voices as well as the other Israelites' voices, begging him to come back before he gets hurt. Instead, he continued on until he stopped at about forty yards from Goliath, gripping his walking stick with determination.

Goliath took one long look at David before bursting into laughter. "So this is Israel's chosen warrior to fight me? Ha! He's just a boy! A boy with a stick! Am I a dog you come at me with sticks?!" he added in a babyish voice, directed at David. All the Philistines behind Goliath laughed mockingly at David, along with their champion.

David did nothing. He did not allow all those words affect him. He could already feel already feel the Lord's strength and presence within him.

"You come at me with swords and spears," David shouted at Goliath and the Philistines, feeling no sign of fear at all. "But I come to you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the army of Israel, whom you have insulted! Today, the Lord my God will hand you over to me and I will strike you down! So then the world will know that Israel has an existing God!" David raised his stick high in the air. "Then everyone here will know that the Lord can save without sword or spear, because He determines every battle's outcome! He will hand you and all of your people over to us right here, right know!" David finished by shoving his stick onto the ground and released it, making it stand on its own.

Silence spread throughout the land like a brisk of wind. No one moved or spoke. Not a sound was heard. All eyes were on David and Goliath, waiting. David remained silenced, waiting for Goliath to speak. He felt slightly nervous, but forced it to disappear.

Goliath's face was no longer gleefully and carefree as before. Instead, his face was covered by a deep frown, crossed eyebrows, and flaming eyes. "We will see who hands over whom," Goliath growled. "Now we fight!"

The Philistines cheered for their champion as he gripped his spear with both hands and positioned himself in attack mode, pointing the sharp end of the spear at David. The Israelites behind David didn't speak a word as David took out his sling and placed one of his smooth stone on it. He stepped back a step and started twirling his sling.

Goliath screamed in a battle cry before he charged after David. The Philistines cheered louder. The Israelites grew quieter.

David held his ground and continued swinging. He could feel his fear growing with every step Goliath made toward him. But David could feel the Lord's presence and His security and, with that, David willingly pushed all his fears away.

Finally, when Goliath had come dangerously close to David, David threw his swing hard and watched as the stone flew out of the sling and straight toward Goliath.

Just as Goliath pulled back his spear in an attempt to stab David, the stone bashed against Goliath's forehead, blood spattering around the stone. The giant man cried out in great pain and, all at once, he dropped the spear and fell flat on the ground, the land shaking at his downfall. Soon, his body lay still.

The Philistines stopped cheering, shock spreading on all of their faces. The Israelites again were silent, but their faces matched their enemies. Both sides waited to see if Goliath will arise or not.

David wordlessly walked up to the giant man and waited for a moment. He slightly kicked Goliath at first and, after seeing no response, he kicked harder.

At last, David walked forward to grab Goliath's sword and raised it above his head. This action showed a clear message to both sides: Goliath is dead and David had won. Israel has won and the Philistines are forced to surrender to them.

All the Israelites let out a huge cheer for David and his success. The Philistines, ironically, just stood silent, without any word to say. Their champion had been defeated by a boy and his God.

David raised the sword higher into the sky, praising the Lord for answering his prayers and for helping him defeat the tall and powerful champion. David smiled widely and whispered the only words he knew he will be saying for the rest of his life:

"Thank you, my Lord."


End file.
